Post date: Dec 03, 2012 1:38:18 PM
Israeli ambassador to the UK, Daniel Taub, arrives at Downing Street after being officially summoned to the Foreign Office over Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements, after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 3, 2012) (UK POOL) - Britain said on Monday (December 3) it had summoned the Israeli ambassador in London to express its concerns over Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood.
A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that the Israeli Ambassador to London, Daniel Taub, had been "formally summoned" to the Foreign Office by the Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, to "set out the depth of the UK's concerns."Israel said on Friday (November 30) it would build 3,000 more settler homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Palestinians want for a future state.
Britain joined France at the weekend in condemning the plan, saying it would make it harder to achieve a resolution through a so-called "two state solution", with Jerusalem as a shared capital, of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
On Thursday (November 29) the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine, in a diplomatic setback for Israel.